Eligible for World Cup, ineligible for IPL, eight U-19 players to miss IPL 7

[Basil]

Eligible for World Cup, ineligible for IPL, eight U-19 players to miss IPL 7​

New Delhi: On a day the IPL announced the inclusion of ‘uncapped’ players (those who have never been ‘selected’ for their respective national sides) in the upcoming auction for the seventh edition of the cash-rich League, eight of the 15-member India U-19 WC squad are set to miss the slam-bang event.

The decision came after the governing council (GC) decided to exclude players without first-class or List A experience from the ‘uncapped players’ auction list. The ruling will mean that Mumbai’s highly-touted young batsman Sarfaraz Khan and fellow right-hander Shreyas Iyer may be out of IPL-reckoning.

The ‘long-list’ that was presented to the eight franchises on Thursday, however, contained U-19 skipper Vijay Zol, Ricky Bhui, Akhil Herwadkar, Ankush Bains, Kuldeep Yadav and Chama Milind on the basis of these six having represented their respective states at domestic level. Sanju Samson has already been retained by Rajasthan Royals.

Reaching out to uncapped players for the first time in its auctions, the mandarins of cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) have decided to include unselected players in the upcoming Feb 12-13 extravaganza in Bangalore for League’s seventh edition. The decision means that the likes of Unmukt Chand and Rishi Dhawan- players who are yet to make the cut for Team India- will be available for auction as they feature in the 651-strong list of uncapped players to be put under the hammer .

The absence of uncapped players in the auction thus far was a contentious issue, with many franchises complaining of horse trading by their richer rivals who, it was alleged, were luring players with under-the-table deals.